Head-to-head Updated

Continental Sport Contact 5 vs Nexen N8000 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 3 + 0 road tests and 3,151 + 80 owner reviews. How we score

Sport Contact 5 is ahead, 67–62

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Continental Sport Contact 5
± 6

Tests 73 · 3 tests Owners 59 · 3,151 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 8 in 2020 Gute Fahrt SUV Summer Tyre Test (dry braking)

“In the end I went with Bridgestone Potenza RE 050's Very happy. Grips as well as the Conti Sport5's without disintegrating after a few hard mountain passes. On a light car sport contact5's, For a heavier car RE 050's are fantastic completely sold. Pilot Sports are far too soft these cars.”

Nexen N8000
Tire BNexen

N8000

Summer

± 8

Tests – · none yet Owners 59 · 80 reviews

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 74

    Dry

    Sport Contact 5 +12
    62
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 5N8000
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 3 / – tests76≈ 64 (est.)
    Reviews found online7059

    Sport Contact 5: 60% × 76.2 + 40% × 69.6 = 74

    N8000: 60% × 64.1 (est.) + 40% × 58.6 = 62

    No road tests of dry for N8000. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 74

    Wet

    Sport Contact 5 +8
    66
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 5N8000
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 3 / – tests75≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online7265

    Sport Contact 5: 60% × 74.6 + 40% × 72 = 74

    N8000: 60% × 67.5 (est.) + 40% × 64.8 = 66

    No road tests of wet for N8000. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 61

    Comfort

    N8000 +4
    65
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 5N8000
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests61≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online6063

    Sport Contact 5: 40% × 61.3 + 60% × 60.4 = 61

    N8000: 40% × 67.5 (est.) + 60% × 62.8 = 65

    No road tests of comfort for N8000. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  4. 66

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 5N8000
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 2 / – tests66–
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)–

    Sport Contact 5: 60% × 66.3 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 66

    No owner ratings of noise for Sport Contact 5. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  5. 47

    Treadwear

    N8000 +12
    59
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 5N8000
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 55 (est.)≈ 62 (est.)
    Reviews found online3455

    Sport Contact 5: 60% × 54.9 (est.) + 40% × 34.4 = 47

    N8000: 60% × 62.2 (est.) + 40% × 54.7 = 59

    No road tests of treadwear for Sport Contact 5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

    No road tests of treadwear for N8000. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  6. 66

    Handling (owners)

    Sport Contact 5 +10
    56
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 5N8000
    Reviews found online6656
  7. 74

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 5N8000
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 2 / – tests74–
Scores at a glance
Continental Sport Contact 5 vs Nexen N8000: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryContinental Sport Contact 5Nexen N8000
Relative Score 67 62
Dry 74 62
Wet 74 66
Comfort 61 65
Noise 66 –
Treadwear 47 59
Handling (owners) 66 56
Efficiency 74 –

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 6

Sport Contact 5

± 8

N8000

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

The professional test results behind the scores

Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.

In the overall rankings of 5 tests that ran both, Continental Sport Contact 5 finished ahead 5 times and Nexen N8000 0 times.

DisciplineCategorySport Contact 5N8000ΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #1/18 #17/18 – 5–0 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2013 European Summer Sports Tyre Test · 225/45 R17

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Sport Contact 5

Pros

  • Outstanding dry and wet grip with excellent aquaplaning resistance
  • Precise steering response and sharp handling
  • Short braking distances in various weather conditions

Cons

  • Rapid and uneven tread wear, resulting in a short overall lifespan
  • High price point combined with poor mileage value
  • Increased road noise as the tires wear down past halfway
All owner themes in the Sport Contact 5 review

Tire B N8000

Pros

  • Excellent value for money compared to premium brands
  • Strong wet-weather performance and aquaplaning resistance
  • High levels of ride comfort and low road noise

Cons

  • Soft sidewalls causing vague steering feedback and 'floaty' handling
  • Inconsistent performance during aggressive or high-speed cornering
  • Reports of premature sidewall cracking or structural issues in some cases
All owner themes in the N8000 review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Continental Sport Contact 5

Mixed

Community feedback on the Continental Sport Contact 5 highlights strong grip and effective braking in both wet and dry conditions, along with good cornering feel. However, opinions are mixed regarding treadwear and durability, with multiple users raising concerns over rapid tire wear and degradation under heavy loads or spirited driving. While some drivers prefer them over competing models, others view them as inferior to subsequent Continental generations or rival brands.

torquecars.com ·2013-04-15

“I've just had a set of these Continental Sport Contact 5 fitted to my car and I'm quite impressed with them. They seem to be really good in the wet, stopping distances were notable shorter, more so than I'd expect with the extra tread depth. They are also really good in the dry and give a nice "feel" on tight corners. They have replaced the Eagle F1's in my mind as the best day to day tyre. Anyone else had them fitted?”

vwt4forum.co.uk ·2016-07-04

“I run Accelera PHI2's on my 20's and have done for the last 3-4 years with absolutely no problems. I'm a biker and like to press on in all my vehicles. Never had a scary moment in the van in any weather and drive just as fast in that as I do the car (conti sport contact 5's on that). Only cover about 6K in the van per year so don't want anything that lasts too long as it would deteriorate before it was anywhere near worn out. Mike likes banging on about Michelins but they can have problems as well as anything else. Michelin Agilis 51's had problems with bulges and tyre failures in the past. Other michelin tyre problems (I know how much Mike likes Yankee sites!) And Michelin have tyre factories all over the world including India and Asia. Not all cheaper tyres are bad tyres. Pirelli P6000 were notoriously bad for example, and Pirelli are not classed as a budget tyre. Mike will still bang on like a broken record though about VW and 16 and 17 inch tyres though. Its probably an old age thing”

mbworld.org

“Quote: Originally Posted by bret In the end I went with Bridgestone Potenza RE 050's Very happy. Grips as well as the Conti Sport5's without disintegrating after a few hard mountain passes. On a light car sport contact5's, For a heavier car RE 050's are fantastic completely sold. Pilot Sports are far too soft these cars. Back in the day I had numerous sets of Potenza's on a Saab 900 Turbo...that's been a good tire for a long long time. Check out the Cooper Zeon when you get a chance, heckuva tire at any price.”

Top themes
#wet and dry grip#rapid treadwear concerns#braking distance performance#cornering feel and handling#comparison with 5P and SC6#heavy vehicle suitability

Based on 14 community posts

Tire B

Nexen N8000

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental Sport Contact 5 B · Nexen N8000
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available8434
Rim diameters17″ – 22″16″ – 20″
UTQG280 - 420 A - AA A—
Sizes in common1717

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental Sport Contact 5

Nexen N8000

Winner: Continental Sport Contact 5 — better dry, handling and wet. Pick the Nexen N8000 if treadwear and comfort matter most to you.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental Sport Contact 5 scores 74 vs 62 on dry.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Nexen N8000 scores 59 vs 47 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental Sport Contact 5 scores 66 vs 56 on handling.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental Sport Contact 5 scores 74 vs 66 on wet.

Tire A · Continental Sport Contact 5
Tire B · Nexen N8000

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Sport Contact 5 or N8000?

Which is better in the wet, Sport Contact 5 or N8000?

Continental Sport Contact 5, 74 vs 66 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Sport Contact 5 or N8000?

Continental Sport Contact 5, 74 vs 62 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Sport Contact 5 or N8000?

Nexen N8000, 65 vs 61 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Sport Contact 5 or N8000?

Nexen N8000, 59 vs 47 on our treadwear score.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology